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| Original Mixed Media Painting by Lynne Gerard unsigned, awaiting proper presentation |
As mentioned in my previous blog entry, in the spring of this year I put a bit of time into a variety of ink wash paintings of the Sandhill Cranes that spend a good share of the year with us at our Ravenseyrie Sorraia Mustang Preserve.
The majority of those works have remained stacked in a pile waiting for me to decide in what ways I would present them in the gallery. Again and again I had to set them aside as my energies were needed to produce the large volume of greeting cards, notecards, oracles and small fine art prints that are the mainstay of my business during tourist season here on Manitoulin Island.
Now that foot traffic in the gallery has slowed down considerably, I am able to devote the meditative attention necessary to putting the finishing touches on those many artworks.
The piece of art I bring forward today in this blog entry is one that I had propped up on the backside of my large easel, which caught the eye of countless art lovers who stood at my checkout counter while letting their eyes roam through the many features of my cluttered studio space. I had many inquiries about this painting with a number of these art enthusiasts asking if I would sell it "as is". While I surely appreciated that determined interest, I did my best to explain that I have a particular way that I like to present my work - which includes poetry and calligraphy - and that I would not know precisely how the layout, matting, framing, etc. would proceed until I could quietly sit with the painting and feel my way forward with it.
This process can at times be quite lengthy, especially, as in the case with this particular painting of six cranes, I knew that I wanted to write a new poem for it and not pair it one of my earlier writings. I can say that the wispy beginnings of what I wanted to write for this piece came often during my morning commute to work on my bicycle. I thought about the habits of the cranes, the times when they are apart from each other and the times that they come together (like we humans do) and I knew that I wanted to weave this element into a poem to accompany the painting.
Last week I was able to sit with my journal book and move through my thoughts, arranging and rearranging words that the "muse" kindly gave to me. Before quitting-time last Saturday, I knew I had finished the poem to my satisfaction and when I got back into the studio after enjoying my Sunday and Monday off (my gallery is open Tuesdays thru Saturdays 10am to 4pm) I would be prepared to begin playing with layout ideas on how to mat and perhaps frame this artwork.
After two days of calligraphing the poem in different configurations and determining what type of mat I would cut and whether or not I would incorporate some lovely Japanese paper into the presentation of the painting - trying several versions of one idea and scrapping that in favour of a new idea (hopefully able to reuse the first mats I had cut on a different painting) I finally arrived at a presentation that felt pleasing to me. As has happened to me quite often in the past few years, I found that an asymmetrical placement of the matting and mounting components gave me the most sense of what felt right and pleasurable to me. I'm sure a lot of people would prefer a more squared-up traditional matting treatment - and for some of my works, I prefer that way of presenting artwork, too...but not for this painting. As all the frames I presently have on hand seemed too heavy and detractive to me, I have decided to sell this piece unframed. It is in a clear plastic presentation sleeve and otherwise ready for custom framing by someone else.
I've titled this piece:
When We Come Together
Here is the poem I wrote for this piece:
You are you,
I am me,
Each with special qualities.
When we come together
- Pure of heart -
Beautiful alchemy occurs,
With potential for great things
Much stronger than when we are apart.
--L. Gerard
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| Original Mixed Media Painting and Calligraphy by Lynne Gerard (before matting) |
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| Original Mixed Media painting by Lynne Gerard matted and mounted |
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| Original Mixed Media Painting by Lynne Gerard presented matted and mounted, unframed |
The painting was made mainly with ink washes and a bit of gouache on Canaletto Grana Grossa paper made in Italy. Matted with museum grade black core matboard and mounted on Japanese washi paper embedded with Ginkgo leaves. Overall dimensions are 21 inches x 26 inches.
Price is $300 / SOLD
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| When We Come Together Original Mixed Media Painting and Hand-calligraphed poem by Lynne Gerard |
I have also adapted this artwork for reproduction as an Open Edition Print:
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| Open Edition Fine Art Print "When We Come Together" by Lynne Gerard |
Printed with archival inks on Canaletto Grana Grossa paper made in Italy. 11 x 14 inches $20 each
email: ravenseyriestudio@icloud.com